Most modern day vehicles have conventional wheel assemblies that has not undergone any substantial changes in design. In general, according to conventional mechanical practices, the wheels are attached at opposing ends of a drive shaft, suspended by a strut assembly, and separated by, for example, a sway bar. This is the general construction of vehicles. But in the case of selective application of wheels, where wheels were used only when needed, retractable wheel systems were introduced. The best example of such retractable wheels is in aircraft design which requires retractable wheel system for takeoff and landing. The retractable wheel system also finds further application in utility trailers which are used for a dual purpose of containment of load, as well as transport of the load. The transport of the utility trailers require wheels that can be retracted from a slot beneath the chassis of the utility trailers.
Most of the retractable wheel systems used nowadays employ a complex design which uses high strength materials in high quantities, which considerably increase the cost of the overall design of the utility applications. Even aircrafts which use retractable landing gears make use of light weight high strength materials which are expensive to manufacture and design. The accidental folding of landing gears during a landing of the aircraft is also a matter of concern in the design of landing gears. Therefore, there is a need for a retractable wheel system which is simpler in design, cost effective, and will prevent accidental folding of the landing gear during landing operation of an aircraft. There is the need for a retractable wheel system which provide a design where the wheels can be extended to a predefined span which effectively stabilizes the landing of the aircraft, or the movement of the utility vehicle.
Hence, there is a long felt but unresolved need for a retractable wheel assembly which considerably reduces the cost involved in designing and manufacturing, as well as provide a stable solution to prevent the accidental folding of the landing gear during the landing operation of the aircraft.